Breath of Life
by pyrofanxxx
Summary: Takes place after episode Made to Suffer. Rick, Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne receive some unexpected help from three survivors that have stories of their own to help save Daryl. Two of these survivors are no strangers to Rick, Merle, or Daryl. Rated T for some sexual content, language, and gory zombie killings.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: **_This is my first fanfic ever, so here goes nothing! Hope ya'll enjoy it :] Based off of the song 'Breath of Life' by Florence and the Machine!_

**Chapter**** 1**  
_"I was looking for a breath of life"_

The gunfire could be heard from a far distance outside of the small town, Woodbury. It was the sound of two opposites colliding which could be heard in the woods. A group of three people could hear it in that distance. Just as quick as it had started, the gunfire was over. The group of three moved closer to the town, slowly hearing the chants of what sounded like a huge group of people banded together. The group consisted of a woman that appeared to be in her early 30's. She wore her dark brown hair up in a ponytail. As for her attire, a dark black tanktop clung to her body from the night heat in Georgia. It was obvious that the tanktop had seen better days for it was ripped a bit on the edges, covered with dry blood spots. Clinging to her legs was a pair of black pants, covered with rips and dried blood. In her hands was a bow, her choice of weapon. On her back was a small backpack along with a case of arrows.

"Ava, why are we heading there? You know the gunfire will attract walkers.."

The voice that questioned the girl came from a young 17 year old boy. He had dark red hair which looked freshly cut despite their conditions. Clung to his body was a pair of blue jeans and a dark blue shirt, both having seen better days. His voice showed fear of the idea of heading into the town. In his hands was a small pistol that they had picked up from a group of people that had succumbed to the outbreak quite early. That group having been his family, all of whom had to be put down by Ava and the man standing next to the boy.

"Kyle is right, Ava. We have already had to take down 5 walkers passing near this place. Who knows how many more will show up due to that ruckus."

The man next to the boy was in his early 30's as well. He was well built in the sense that he did not look like someone that worked out at the gym constantly. He had dirty blonde hair that curled around his ears, as if hiding them since he had not cut it for quite some time. The man's dark blue eyes appeared black in the dark night considering no moon was out to bright up some of the woods. Around his waist, there was a hunting knife along with two guns. He wore a dark green shirt which had the sleeves torn off along with a pair of khakis which had plenty of pockets. Though some of the pockets were ripped to shreds. His face had some dark scruff from not being shaved despite the hair always being slow to grow.

"Jeff, we need to go there. Don't ask me why, but I have a feeling that something is there for us, " said Ava. Her own blue eyes focused on the dirt trail ahead of them. Tire tracks clearly led the direction.

The sound of growling could be heard nearby. Ava lifted the bow off of her arm, pulling out an arrow from the case on her back. Having acquired some things from fallen folks, Jeff lifted a flashlight in the direction of the growling. While not showing much of the walker, the light showcased the slight limp that the walker had. Pointing the bow in the direction of the walker, Ava loaded the arrow and let go without a second thought. The sound of the walker falling was enough for Ava to confirm that she had hit her target right in the skull.

"Got the bloody bastard right in the skull," said Ava with a triumphant smile on her face. Jeff replied, "Yes well done, but we need to get out of here..." Ava said,"Live a little. I promise you, Jeff. Something is there for us in that town with flames blazing. If a herd comes through, we know how to handle it. Don't you agree, Kyle?" Kyle looked between the two adults, unsure of what to think of them. He said, "I think we should go, looking from this distance, it appears to be safe, look." Pointing ahead, it was visible. There was a barricade of sorts filled with tires and wood, preventing anything from entering the town.

Jeff looked from the two, both gleaming with delight over the fact that there was possibly a safe place to stay. He shrugged his shoulders which was proceeded by his eyes rolling. He said, "Fine children, we will go to this town. I just don't expect a happy welcome party for us when we arrive there." His hearing wasn't off, he could hear the sounds of what seemed to be an angry mob.

The three had kept moving towards the town, stopping an abandoned pickup truck. They could clearly hear the mob now, full of anger and wanting blood, it seemed. From the corner of his eye, Kyle could see someone limping followed by others. He pointed the shotgun in the direction of the person limping though didn't fire. Ava and Jeff had their attention on the guards on top of the wall.

Getting closer, the sounds of growling could be heard getting closer. The stench of dead approaching closer to him. Kyle closed his eyes, finger on the trigger. Despite everything in his body telling him to shoot, he didn't. Instead, his gun was shoved down. No one attacked him, instead a voice was heard.

"Boy, you should know better than to point your gun at someone with a sword..."

He opened his eyes, believing himself to be lucky that he didn't actually trigger the gun or his foot would've been blown off. In front of him stood a tall dark skinned woman with a sword in her hand. She was the one that had been limping. Ava and Jeff immediately turned around, surprised to catch sight of the woman.

**Ava's POV  
**  
Jeff and I had been watching the guards on top of the wall, evaluating the situation. It wasn't until the sound of a woman's voice that I turned around. I was surprised that she was outside the wall. Some blood was on her face as if she had just fought off someone.

"Care to tell us your name before you threaten my boy," I asked. Kyle wasn't related to her in any way, but she had grown to view him as a younger brother. Judging from his scared expression, she could tell that he must have frozen up again. She didn't blame him considering everything that he had gone through during this outbreak. Despite his past, she knew she had to eventually stop making excuses for him or he'd get killed.

"My name is not of importance right now. However, I believe that you are seeking a way into this town. Am I correct?"

I could tell from her voice of tone that she was no ordinary woman. Perhaps, only one that people would read about in books. All of the women that we had met so far on our journey, depended on men to keep them safe. They had no skill with swords, guns, or anything except the ways of former living. I didn't hold a high level of respect for women in general. We just didn't have a high reputation in general, ya know? I always read about weak women in fairytale books, women that I would never want to be like.

"We are. I believe something is in there for us to find, any chance you know how to get in there, almighty sword warrior," I said with a hint of sarcasm.

Her dark eyes showed anger in them when I said that in a sassy tone. Though her anger wasn't fooling anyone. I could see desperation behind her eyes. She needed help with something. Just the cuts on her face told me this.

"Michonne, who are these people," asked a man followed by two other people. The man looked like someone that I had seen before. He looked a bit stressed, as if something terribly wrong had just happened. His light eyes showed that he was looking for help just like Michonne. Though his desperation was more clear to me along with sadness and anger. What an interesting combination. The two people following was a woman, who reminded me of a younger version of myself in terms of looks. The man with his arm wrapped around her neck had on a prisoner jacket. He sported a bruised eye along with blood on his mouth and nose as if he had gone through some torture. If I had my history correct, he must have been Korean. Don't ask how I know this, I just do from studying other heritages in my school classes.

Michonne spoke, "They're looking for a way into the town. I believe they could be of use to us." I said, "I'm not being used for anyone. As far as I am concerned..." I was interrupted by Jeff, who had whispered, 'Shut up' to me. He had been busy, looking at the dark haired man. It was quite creepy for him to have stared at the men with conflicted thoughts. Atleast in my opinion, it was.

Jeff asked, "What are all of your names?" He had asked for the three names though it appeared that he only cared to hear the name of the dark haired man. I said, "Jeff, staring isn't nice you know?" He looked at me with a glare in his eyes. Never had I been so confused by his actions.

The dark haired man said,"My name is Rick, these two are Glenn and Maggie." Jeff's face lit up just a little. It was evident then that he knew Rick, perhaps more than just from this little conversation. Then it clicked in my head. I asked, "Rick Grimes?"

Now, it was Rick's turn to feel a bit confused. Why did people know who he was? That was probably the thought running through his head. Rick asked, "How do you know my last name, have we met before?" I said, "No, but you and Jeff sure have."

A look of recognition appeared in Rick's eyes as he looked at Jeff. I could only sit there and wonder what was with these brothers staring at each other. Was it a family trait to greet a long lost one by staring? In Rick's case, I believe he was looking at Jeff as if it was a lie. Rick and Jeff embraced then in a hug. I could only smirk at the thought of two men in dirty clothing, hugging. Excuse my mind, it sometimes could end up in the gutter. Not that I'm not sorry at all, given the circumstances of everything in this world.

Kyle addressed the rest of the group, introducing himself. Kyle and Glenn found themselves in a small conversation. I could already tell that the two would hit it off as friends. On a serious note, I cleared my throat just a little. I hated being the ruiner of such good moments, but it had to be done. I asked, "Do you folks need to go in there or something? I think we can all help each other out."

Jeff and Rick had been in a conversation though stopped along with everyone else when I spoke. Maggie asked, "What's your name and why are you heading in there?" Right and straight to the point, she was. I could tell if we stayed with this group, I could easily become best friends with her. I said, "My name is Ava. We were heading in there, hoping to find something there."

Glenn said, "There is nothing to be found in there. Not what you think. It may appear safe and sound from walkers, but it isn't safe. Trust me, this is why I look the way that I am, at the moment." Curious. From the looks of him, I could think of him as being a weakling. Someone that could easily get attacked by walkers. Though something in his eyes when he spoke of the place in front of us, proved me wrong.

I asked, "So, you guys went in to save..I am presuming Glenn and Maggie. Why else would you possibly need to go in there for?" I had lost my reason to go in there, if it was true. The town was not safe as Jeff and I had hoped when we approached it. Glenn's face showed there was much worse things going on. The abuse from humans rather than being put through the hell of dealing with walkers.

Rick looked at the ground for a second as if he didn't want to say what he was about to say. Something had gone wrong in this rescue mission. I could tell from his face that he perhaps did not suspect it to happen out of all the things that they had gone through. He said, "We need to go back in there for Daryl." Daryl?

My heart sunk a little bit and I didn't know what to think. I had been left with the ideas that he along with Merle had been lost in this world of hell despite the two of them being the toughest sons of bitches that I had the pleasure of knowing. Michonne must have been the first to pick up on my silence. Kyle and Jeff both knew about Daryl and Merle from stories that I had told them. Michonne asked, "You know Daryl?"

I said, "No, I don't just know him..." I could hear it then. The sounds of the angry chanting, they wanted blood. The sounds became words in my mind slowly as I listened closely. It wasn't just an angry mob asking for blood. No, they were asking for death even in these circumstances of death becoming a vile way to live.

_"Kill them! Kill them!" _I could hear it in my head over and over again. All I could imagine was Daryl's face, if it was him that they were referencing. He was perhaps ready to take them all on. However, the word 'them' was something to consider. Merle had to have been with him. No way could one of them be gone without the other. I pictured the two together. Daryl's face perhaps full of pain, looking to his older brother for help.

Rick put a hand on my shoulder and asked, "How do you know Daryl?" I looked into his light blue eyes and said, "My name is Ava...he's my brother." With that final statement, the world became black as the words of "_Kill them! Kill them!" _could still be heard in the dark night.

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this so far and please review. I'd love some thoughts on the first chapter. Thank ya'll! :]**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**  
_"A little touch of heavenly light"_

"Is she awake," asked Kyle with uncertainty in his voice. He was always the one concerned for Ava despite seeing her take down plenty of walkers without a hint of fear in her eyes. Ava sat up slowly with the help of Rick. She asked, "What happened?" Rick answered her in a low voice, "You blacked out." Looking around, she saw no sign of Michonne, Glenn, or Maggie. The next question to be asked.

"Where are the other three," muttered Ava as she rubbed her right eye. Her right eye lacked some vision due to an incident as a kid that caused damage to her eye. Moving her hand off of her face, she looked at Rick for an answer. He said, "They went behind one of the vehicles over there. They are going to wait out here, while we go in." Jeff looked a bit unhesistant about the plan given that the chants had died down. Daryl may have been in the town, but was it worth going in there? He could have been dead already.

Ava said, "I think it would be safer, if they came, Rick." Perhaps his judgement was off as the leader of their small group. Plus, she could see that he wasn't entirely sure of the plan. The woman named Michonne would make anyone question where her loyalties truly lied.

Rick said, "I told them that we would give them a signal, if we need their help. Also, Michonne can lead them back in, if anything happens out here." Ava nodded slowly though Ian interjected this conversation.

Kyle asked, "Are you sure that you can trust her to keep them safe?" He was always the uncertain one in the group, fear driving most of his actions in this world that he took. Rick looked up at Kyle and said, "No, but if she wants to prove that I can ever trust her, she'll handle this." Ava stood up on her own and said, "Enough chit chat, I want to go get my brother."

She hadn't seen him for quite some time. They were close as kids though different life paths caused them to drift apart in their adult lives. Rick stood up from where he had been kneeling beside her and said, "It's not just Daryl, Merle is in there as well. Though he should be safe since he was the one that brought Maggie and Glenn here." His tone was sharp, hate seething from his mouth when he mentioned Merle.

Ava looked a bit shocked. Not by the actions taken by Merle towards Maggie and Glenn. She knew what he was capable of, being his younger sister. They never saw eye to eye. In fact, he treated her like rubbish compared to how a brother should treat his sister. Moving away from the two, she looked up at the wall. Two people remained on the wall, two less than before she blacked out.

Seeing the flames dying down in the town, she could tell the town was quiet. What were they waiting for? Did they already get the blood that they so wanted for their dead men and women? Observing the wall, she wondered what could possibly destroy it. Arrows sure wouldn't do the trick. Looking back at Kyle, she said, "Correct me, if I am wrong. We still have the stuff that we took from the fort, correct?" He thought for a second though Jeff beat him to the punch. Jeff said, "Ava, we have enough to blow that whole wall up." A mischievous smile was on his face then followed by her own.

This smile was abandoned soon though. She thought of what had happened before the blackout. "Kill them" ran through her mind a few times. _Them._ It wasn't referring to one person, but rather two people or more. Ava looked over at Rick, who had fallen quiet since she had taken the lead of their group. She said, "The chanting wasn't referring to a single person. It was referring to a group of people and I have a feeling that it is Merle."

Rick said, "Highly doubtful, but that is your call. They are your brothers, so you should decide what you want to do." He was backing down from the leadership role. Ava could tell from how the others looked to him before that he was always depended on as the leader. Much like herself with the two men that traveled with her. Ava said nothing for she was completely unsure. Unsure if she would want to save Merle after everything he had done to her.

Jeff asked, "So what's the plan, Ava?" Taking a second more to observe, she saw fire growing in one part of the town. Not far from where they were standing. The chants were starting up again resulting in an unsettling feeling in her mind. The fear that something was going on.

The wall's guards left their posts, perhaps too intrigued for their own to keep watch. Flames becoming smoke in the dark sky was much more entertaining to them. Looking back to the woods, she saw no sign of movement. Despite the huge threat ahead of them, walkers were always the biggest threat in this new world. She suspected as always, walkers would show up eventually. They always had the worst timing to show up at places.

She took the backpack off her back and knelt on the ground, unzipping the biggest part of the backpack. Looking through it, she found a few grenades which the group had acquired when Kyle joined them. Handing the grenades to Kyle, she closed the backpack. Putting it on her back, she stood up with her eyes on the wall again. No guards still. Ava said, "Kyle and Rick, you'll take the grenades and set them off near the wall. This should blow the wall to hell then get into the town as quick as possible. Give Michonne, Glenn, and Maggie a signal." Kyle looked at her as if she was crazy for a second.

Kyle said, "Ava, the blow will attract so many walkers. It's too risky." Ava rolled her eyes a bit. She said, "It's risky for us, but this is a huge town. The walkers will act as another weapon for us." Her tone was cool considering she was talking about using the townspeople as bait. She looked to the other two men in the group for objections though found none. With that, Ava continued on, "Give the signal to those three to expect walkers though hopefully, we can get my brother before anything happens. Jeff and I will head into the town before you blow the wall to hell. This will give us a head start to finding Daryl and the explosion should cause a majority of these numbskulls to run there with walkers approaching shortly after."

The plan was a bit ridiculous. She knew it was a huge risk attracting walkers with grenades, but there was no way around it. The gunfire had been just as loud as a grenade would be. It had been so loud which was what drew the three people to the town in the first place. Breaking the wall down gave Maggie, Glenn, and Michonne a better chance than leaving them outside. Ava had seen the opening to the town when she had walked to the town in the first place. Walking away from them, she made her way to it. She had expected Jeff to follow her.

Turning around just once, she saw Rick had followed her instead. He said, "I told Jeff to stay with Kyle because I have already been in the town once." How stupid of her to have not suggested him to go with her. He had been the only one to go in, so it would have made more sense. Ava shrugged her shoulders and asked, "Care to lead the way?" Shrugging her shoulders had been her way of admitting to a mistake. He nodded and took the lead.

Crawling under the part of the wall that Michonne had only crawled out from under a couple minutes ago, they reached the inside of the town called Woodbury. Ava whistled quietly at the site of the town.

Despite the scene of some rubble and smashed windows, it looked like an actual town. The sight brought back memories of the town that she had transferred to as a college student. Feeling water building up her eyes, she blinked. She hadn't cried this whole time during the outbreak. Tears were not an option now that Daryl depended on her. Rick had looked back, noticing the buildup of water.

As they walked towards the sounds of chanting building up, they heard a huge bang. Looking back, they saw a car fly up off of the wall. It was a glorious site to see, the car flying up in partial flames. That noise caused some panic in the streets that had been empty when they had entered. Moving into the shadows of an alley, they watched as a few people ran in the direction of the wall that had collapsed. Another bang was heard. Music to Ava's ears, no doubt. Rick spoke, "Only few groups at a time are moving to the wall. There is a lot more people in this town than that."

Their plan wasn't working as well as they thought. Ava said, "Something has to be happening for them not to go running to that like a wild pack." Seeing the people letting up and hearing gunfire, the two moved out of the alley and alongside the sidewalk towards the chants. Rick led the way through the town with Ava trailing behind him. She took the bow off of her arm and got an arrow out, prepared for anyone to try to shoot her.

The easiness of running didn't last long as four men opened fire on them. Ducking behind a vehicle, Rick shot at the men anytime he had a chance to turn around a corner. For Ava, she loaded arrows into her bow and carefully aimed just above the hood of the car at the men. Two arrows hit their targets, one in the neck. One in the eye. The man who had an arrow in his neck, also received a bullet in the chest thanks to Rick. The other two men kept firing away. Preparing another arrow, Rick stopped Ava from doing so.

He said, "You have to go find Daryl, we're wasting time. I'll cover you until you're out of sight of these two." Looking at him, she wanted to protest. Splitting up was never the best idea. It was how she had lost two of her best friends when they had split up at the mall that they had hidden in for some time. Rick's eyes were what convinced her otherwise. They showed in his eyes that he was pleading for her to go. Ava thought, 'These darn eyes will be the death of me or him, I swear.' Instead of protesting, she nodded.

Both got up and moved out from behind the vehicle. Ava moved at a quicker pace than Rick, trying to get out of sight faster, so he could stop covering her. A bullet nearly grazed her arm though she heard the man that had fired the shot, go down. A thud of his gun was what she had heard. The other man, he kept firing at Rick. Rick was good at covering people. He had done it plenty of times as a sheriff deputy. However, good was just never enough for anyone. Hearing a gunshot followed by a thud near to her, Ava turned around.

She saw Rick had fallen to his feet, blood leaving his body. From where? She wasn't sure though she loaded an arrow into her bow before the man could shot another bullet and hit him right in the forehead. A clean shot. Falling to her own feet, Ava looked over his body and saw the shot had been to his leg. Everything was truly going to hell. How was he suppose to run through the woods with walkers chasing them after this?

Rick said, "Go on after your brother, I'll be fine." Ava shook her head because she could hear them now. The screams of people fleeing. Walkers were entering where the wall had blown up. Still a distance from the two, but it didn't take long for walkers to get someone. She offered her hand to help him up, but a blonde woman came running to them. Ava looked at her with confusion and asked, "Who in the hell are you?!" The woman bent down and started to apply pressure on his wound. She said, "Andrea, now go to Daryl. He's up there." She pointed ahead to where the chanting still occurred. 'Damn woman, we don't have time to just sit here. Walkers are coming' thought Ava.

Rick only looked at her and nodded, indicating that she could trust the new woman that had appeared. Ava got to her feet and swiftly walked through the town, jogging at some clearings when no one could be seen. So many thoughts were running through her mind. Would she bother to save Merle? The chants of 'kill them!' still kept going through her mind. The world was no longer what it had been, this was proof.

Reaching the empty looking buildings, she slowly made her way forward under a makeshift bleacher. It wasn't a safe trip after all for she heard moaning from behind her. A walker was behind her. Ava turned around and loaded an arrow in the bow, faster than the walker could reach out for her. Letting go of the string, the arrow hit the walker right in the eye. It fell to the ground with a thud, Ava only taking a moment to look at it. She muttered under her breath, "Ugly skank." Turning her attention back to the scene in front of the makeshift bleachers, she saw two men fighting.

It wasn't a fair fight, more of a one sided fight. The one man was kicking the other's ass, brutally. The sounds of moaning and growling could be heard from where she stood. Walkers? Who used walkers to fight? Moving to the left side of the bleacher, she looked through the bleachers still. A man with one eye covered by a white patch was standing nearby, watching the fight with amusement.

Clearly he was more concerned with the fight rather than his town falling to the depths of hell. Other men stood off to the distance, watching with amusement as well. Reaching the end of the bleacher, she stepped out though no one noticed her presence yet given her dark attire. The one man fell to the ground once again, a walker mere inches from him. It looked close enough to grab him this time. Reaching for an arrow, Ava loaded it onto the string of the bow. If she missed, the walker was going to get the man. If she hit the walker, she'd give away her presence to the arena.

Pulling the string back, she let go. Ava barely ever missed her target, but her eyesight was indeed off. Plus, this was a far range target not an entirely close one. Also, the chance of the other man moving could happen meaning she'd kill a live person over a dead one. The arrow spun slowly and made it's way towards it's target.

Would it hit or not? The chants, 'kill them' running through the arena as they awaited the death of a man.

**Author's Note: Thank you to all of the reviews so far! :D It's great to hear that you guys are enjoying this so far, I really enjoyed writing this chapter as it's the start of the downfall of Woodbury. Someone asked if romance will occur in this story soon. Yes, it will though not just yet. I promise it'll happen in this story though! The next chapter will include more walker blood spraying out of their brains, the fate of the two men in the arena, and some more of the other characters in this story. Please review with any opinions that you may have whether good or bad, it's always appreciated. :]**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**  
_"But all the choirs in my head sang, no oh oh"_

The target hit a man, well the carcass of a man. The walker's growls could be heard, getting louder as it limped at a slow pace to the man on the ground. It's grey/yellowish eyes showing a hunger. As soon as the arrow become lodged in the walker's skull, the attention of the crowd turned towards the woman with her bow standing there. She bowed her head a little bit, showing some arrogance over the fact that she had just ruined their entertainment for the evening. Moving forward at a slow pace before anyone could make a move to her, she surveyed the scene in front of her.

Around the two men that had been fighting, were five walkers chained by their necks. The walkers were a small distance from the men. The distance was so small that if either man was punched a good amount, they'd stumble into the walkers. The five remaining walkers all had different distinctions. Two were women, while three of them were men. They all appeared as if they had once worked on a farm. Ava had seen plenty of farms overrun as they drove through Georgia, looking for shelter. Their bites were in various places. Some on their necks, some on their arms. All shared the same growls, wanting to sink their teeth into the men in front of them.

As for the man standing, the blue eyes looked at her in surprise mixed with anger. They had never showed any sign of comfort to her. The emotions shown through those eyes were always of hatred. A little amount of light grey hair was on his head along with some facial hair around his chin and mouth. On his right arm was a blade connected to him. Her attention went back up to his face where few bruises were. There was mark on his nose perhaps from a previous attack that was slowly healing. The white wife beater that he had on was ripped, exposing some of his chest. Despite the marks and the torn shirt, he looked ready to be named the victor in this fight.

The other man stood up slowly, looking down at the fallen walker before turning to look at her with his own blue eyes. The emotions shown in his eyes were so unusual. Ava had only seen the emotions a few times in their lives. She never expected though to find those emotions in a world like this. He was always considered the stronger one out of the three to her. Those blue eyes looking at her, appeared to be watery. There was an amount of sadness in those eyes along with desperation. His eyes expressed the need for help from the older man that stood near him though help was not what he had received at all. His own dark vest was torn open, exposing his own chest which had some cuts on it. Perhaps from the older man's blade. His face had some bruises along with cuts from punches received. Whether they were from the fight or defending himself against whoever caught him, Ava couldn't tell.

It wouldn't have been like him to join a town like this. Before she could fully make her way over to the two men, she heard the sound of chains. The chains around the walkers' necks being let go of the restraints. The restraints fell to the ground carelessly. Chains were still around the walkers' necks, but they were free to move as close to the men as they wanted. Ava lifted her bow back up, loading an arrow into it.

She shot an arrow into the skull of the bigger walker, who was probably the owner of his farm. The arrow sunk into his eye deeply, blood gushing out of it at a slow pace. Two down, four to go. The walkers were limping, growling as they were given free reign towards the men in front of them. However, never count out the Dixon brothers. Despite suffering some pain, Daryl leaned by the walker that had originally been taken down and tugged the arrow out of it's skull. With efficient movement, he managed to turn around in time to lodge the arrow right in the walker's forehead. It had been a close call for him as the walker had reached it's arm out towards him. Even a scratch would be deadly to either men.

Merle managed to use his blade for one of the women walkers, the blade getting sent right up through her neck to her skull by him. The blood sprayed on his face from the wound though he didn't mind it all. In fact, some quiet laughter escaped his mouth from the joy of finally getting to use his blade again for a kill. He turned around to catch the other walker in the back of the skull with the blade, more blooding spraying onto him. As he did this, Ava took out the remaining walker that was advancing it's way onto Daryl. Daryl had another arrow in his hand, prepared to kill it at any cost.

However, Ava had refused to take any chances with that. The walkers had all fallen to the ground one by one with quiet thuds. Before the men that had been watching could do anything, she loaded an arrow at the rather tall man with a crossbow on his back. Letting go of the string, she watched as the arrow hit the man in the knee. It wasn't meant to kill him, but to instead allow them to get Daryl's weapon. The man fell to the ground, shouting in agony. This single movement caused the crowd in the bleachers to turn and move as quickly as possible. They all made their way off the bleachers into the town, perhaps looking for a safe haven in their homes. Homes to soon be overrun by walkers.

This shot also caused the men that had been watching to pull their guns out, aiming them towards the three Dixons. Without a concern for her own safety, Ava made her way to the crossbow that laid on the ground. It had been dropped by the man when he had fallen to the ground. He knew why she had shot him with an arrow and had discarded the crossbow.

Moving as fast as possible, she grabbed the crossbow with her right hand and took cover near one set of bleachers. Bullets were flying about left and right. She had lost track of Daryl and Merle. Ava put the crossbow down as she prepared her own bow with an arrow, prepared to take on any of the men that were sending bullets in her direction.

_Meanwhile... (Going to go into Jeff & Kyle for right now)_

Jeff and Kyle had set off the explosives at the wall, perfectly. A car had gone up in the air, flames engulfing it. Jeff said, "Good job, kid. This is a sign that if the world ever goes back to normal, you should definitely be allowed into the army." His voice was sincere in the sense that he was being truthful to Kyle. Through their journey together, Jeff rarely gave encouragement to Kyle. The reason being that he felt that he needed to toughen up a bit.

What he ever said to Kyle was never rude though. He believed that if he treated Kyle as if he was scum, he would never toughen up. Kyle would just shrink into his shell more away from Ava and him. Kyle smiled at Jeff and nodded, knowing this would be perhaps their last good moment of the night. It was about to turn into the worst for them. Before they could head into the town, Kyle walked off towards one of the vehicles which was turned over. Sitting around the vehicle were Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne. Michonne was keeping watch carefully with her kitana in her hand. She looked poised to behead anything that would come near the group. Her dark eyes turned to him as if questioning what he wanted with them.

Kyle said, "Just wanted to give you all a warning that the noises of the blast may attract a lot of walkers." Maggie had been on the ground with Glenn, tending to his wounds by slightly rubbing them with her thumb. His face had once been quite handsome though looked hideous due to numerous bruises. She looked up at Kyle and said, "Alright boy, thanks for the heads up. Be careful in there." Her voice was firm as if she was a bit insulted. Only by the fact that a kid was telling her what to expect. Another herd like the farm. Despite the eight months spent away from the farm, she was still hurt by the loss of it.

Walking off with a hint of fear in his walk considering he had almost fallen when he turned around, he made his way back to Jeff. Thoughts running through his mind. He had never confessed something to his own group, something he never confessed to anyone. If this was to be his last moments alive, he wanted someone to know. It was mainly his cause for his insecurity. Plus, the events that he had seen in the fort were completely scarring to him. Shrugging off the thought, he walked back up to Jeff. Jeff had been watching out for him since he had left him. The walls had fallen to the town, it was for the taking of walkers soon.

Moving forward, Jeff caught onto the silence from Kyle. It wasn't unusual given that Kyle had his moments of being quiet. However, in the event of potential death, Kyle had always expressed his fear. Jeff asked, "What's wrong, Kyle?" In his left hand was his pistol, the one that he had been carrying with him since the start of all this chaos. It was out because they were about to walk into a town known to them as only wanting to see death. Kyle shrugged and said, "It's not important to know right now."

Jeff said, "If you need to talk, let me know. Even after all this because we're going to come out of this, alive." His voice was firm on the last word as he wasn't about to lose his life nor let Kyle lose his. They had come too far to lose it all when he had just been reunited with his own brother. Kyle said nothing in response and unhooked the small gun from his own belt loop. With no more words exchanged between the two men, they entered Woodbury. A town destroyed by terrorists, soon to be destroyed by walkers.

The town was full of terror with screams of the townspeople filling the air. Flames licked away at buildings near the fallen walls. Gunshots filled the night as men turned their attention to Kyle and Jeff. Kyle took off running towards the left side of the town, taking cover behind a post office box. He turned to look over his shoulder and pointed the gun at the one man firing at him. The man was rather short with dark black hair and a cigarette in his mouth. A smirk was on the man's face because he knew it was only a kid behind the post office box.

Kyle quickly turned back around as a gunshot deflected off of the post office box, his eyes looking at the building in front of him. His breath was getting heavier as fear built up inside of him. He had a huge fear of losing his life, he truly felt that he would lose it tonight. How had he survived since leaving the fort? He had relied on Ava or Jeff to protect him. Only a few times, he had gotten the target right with shooting. Knives, he was afraid of losing given that it meant close contact with a walker. Something that he would never take the risk of having.

Turning around once more, he heard a shout. He looked and saw the man had been caught off his guard. A walker had sunken it's teeth in the back of his shoulder. The blood was gushing down his arm as he shouted in agony. His gun had dropped to the ground. Kyle turned back, not wanting to witness the scene. He thought, 'Why can't I just pretend that they are humans? Humans that have harmed us in ways that are unimaginable.' In ROTC, he had done well with distinguishing when to pull the trigger. He had no problem shooting fake targets. When he had gone to the fort, he had helped in an attack once by actual terrorists. So, why was it so hard to shoot someone slower?

Meanwhile, Jeff had gone to the right of the town. He had made it up the pavement quite a bit before he caught the attention of two women. Both had aimed their guns at him, shooting immediately. One grazed his arm which caused him to fall back onto the pavement. Luckily, the women were away from him at a distance. They probably would have advanced on him, if they had the chance. However, shouts and screams started pouring out into the night mixed with growls. So, walkers had advanced quicker on the town than expected. Jeff sat up, moving up against a vehicle. He took the sight in for a moment of walkers biting into the townspeople or limping after the townspeople. Many of the townspeople were running off in the directions of buildings. Jeff thought, 'I hope Ava has found Daryl by now. Bloody hell, this is more than expected.' The women in the street had turned their attention to the walkers, shooting them in the skulls. Some of their shots missed with the ending result being shots to the knees.

Not wanting to witness the act of two women losing their lives, Jeff got up and started walking over to them. He began to shoot at the walkers that they had missed. They may have just shot a bullet in his arm, but he had a better upbringing. An upbringing to help others in need, especially women. The walkers kept advancing towards them though, an endless amount of walkers. On the other hand, Kyle turned around once more to see if the walker had left the man alone. However, there was no sign of the walker. Instead, he heard a growl from a distance. Turning around suddenly, Kyle saw the walker advancing towards him. Holding the gun up, his hand was shaking steadily, perhaps too much to concentrate on a straight shot. The growls of the walker growing louder as it anticipated the chance to feed itself on the small young man in front of it.

_The result... (Going to pick up on Rick and Andrea)_

After seeing Ava make her way up the street, Andrea turned her attention to Rick. She had no idea how they had stumbled upon the place. Merle was the only source left of the Atlanta group in Woodbury from what she knew. Considering the general feelings for Merle, she doubted they had come looking for him. It wasn't until Phillip had told the town of an attack by terrorists. It wasn't until she had seen Daryl Dixon standing in the middle of the makeshift arena that she put some pieces together. Rick had come back in for Daryl, but what was the first attack about?

Her soft blue eyes looked at him, taking in his features. Much had changed about Rick Grimes since their last moments together. His hair was slightly longer than before, he looked dirtier than before. His eyes had some sadness along with coldness in them. Before at the farm, they had some light in them. If anyone had been decent at the farm, it was him. He always tried to do the right thing for the group. Sometimes, he even could not kill some threats to the group such as Randall. It was because he had hope that Carl would manage a somewhat decent life despite the world they were currently enduring. That light was gone now though.

Andrea asked, "Who is that girl and why are you all here?" She took off the dark blue buttoned down shirt that she had worn over her white tank top, wrapping the shirt around the wound sustained to Rick's leg. Despite the group leaving her behind, she was willing to help them for now. She was still intent on staying with Phillip considering everything the town had to offer. What he had to offer her. Rick looked up at her as she was focused on the wound, refusing to make eye contact with him. He said, "That's Daryl and Merle's younger sister. We're here because Merle took Maggie and Glenn from a store when they went on a supply run. Now, your governor has Daryl." Andrea slowly looked up at him as the pieces started to fit together.

She asked, "They have a sister? Interesting, how some people are so lucky...where is everyone else from your group?" Her voice had trailed off midway through as she was resentful now. Daryl had his family slowly coming together, while Rick had his family from the beginning. Andrea had lost her younger sister, Amy and never really had the chance to be there for her. Not until she reanimated into a walker was that chance given to her so cruelly. Rick's expression grew cold slightly at her mentioning how some people were lucky. He had lost Lori, the one light for him that allowed him to see some hope despite how their marriage had gone in the past few months.

He said, "They're here, they're are -" Rick stopped speaking before he could finish his statement. Both of them turned their attention to the street where from a distance, screams started. The growls were unmistaken. Walkers were in the once safe town.

_Back to Ava, Daryl, and Merle_

With her bow in her hands, Ava did her damnest to look closely at the men through the bleachers yet again. Her impaired vision in her right eye sometimes prevented her perfect aim. However given her condition, she mainly had vision in her left eye. It was a habit that had grown with her as she aged, affecting her brain. Moving ever so slightly from behind the bleachers, she was seen by a few men. Pulling back the string near her mouth, she breathed slightly as she concentrated on the men. Her specific target was the dark skinned man, who had gotten back up after sustaining the knee injury. As soon as she let go of the string, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Come here to rescue Darlena?", asked Merle with a snicker on his face. Turning her attention to him slightly, she said, "If I remember correctly, I just saved your ass as well. I could have let the walker shut you up for good, Marilyn." Her attention went back to the men, she wanted to avoid her brother badly. Though she still allowed herself to say the nickname that she had given him. Marilyn Monroe though she preferred Marilyn. Merle surely hated it more than anything else. Loading up another arrow, she concentrated on another man who shot in the direction of the bleachers. Unluckily for her, it barely missed Merle.

Merle picked up Daryl's crossbow which was on the ground. Despite it being taken by him when he had been caught, there was still arrows loaded in the crossbow. Unhooking one from the front of the crossbow, Merle loaded one into the bow. He pointed the crossbow, not at the men that were shooting in their direction. Instead, he had it pointed at Ava's hand. Shooting at it, the arrow sunk deeply into her hand. She let go of the string of her own bow, the arrow ended up missing one of the men entirely.

Ava shouted a little bit though not nearly as loud as some of the people that were getting attacked by walkers. Merle chuckled slightly before saying, "That oughta teach you to treat your elders with respect, Evan." He had resorted to the name, Evan for his little sister considering the slightly similar sound of the names. For a moment, Ava thought he would shoot an arrow into her head to finish her off. Though he walked by her and started releasing arrows at the men that were shooting at them. Ignoring the pain, Ava picked up her bow that had fallen of her hands and joined him, releasing arrows onto the men.

The only question remaining in her mind was, 'Where is Daryl?'

**Author's Note: **First, I would like to say I am deeply saddened along with everyone else over the incident at Sandy Hook. No children deserve to go through something like that, especially this close to the holidays. I hope the families are able to grieve in peace and I hope something is done about this, so to prevent things like this in the future.

Now, I would like to thank everyone for sticking through this story and reviewing/favoriting/following it. It means a lot considering it is my first story. I took a different approach of showing what has been going on with our other characters. This won't happen every chapter as this is Ava's story though I felt the others would be experiencing their own nightmares. Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, and Daryl will all appear in the next chapter along with everyone else. The Governor will make an appearance in either the next chapter or the one after that. Trust me, I know he has a lot of evil to live up to given the things he does in the comics. So, he is not forgotten!

If you review, I'd like some opinions as to how you think I am doing with the characters that are not my own. Any opinions on if I am doing a good or bad job are greatly appreciated as it gives me criticism to take seriously advancing this story more. Once again, thanks everyone for reading so far and next chapter will be up soon! Also, check out Behind Blue Eyes, a story about Merle based on A Christmas Carol if you enjoy this story. :]


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